Is Aluminum Wiring Dangerous?
It's time to purchase home, whether is be your first home or up-scaling or downscaling....there are things every person out shopping for their home would be looking for.
Aluminum vs Copper Wiring. This seems not to even be thought about from many people, because most of the public, thinks all homes have been built with copper wiring....not so. In the early 60's to the late 70's houses, usually development homes, where built with aluminum wiring to save on cost. Many of those homeowners didn't understand the that there was a huge difference between the two and when their first appliance needed to be replaced, if the installer did not see the aluminum wiring, it shorted the connection out and fried the appliance.
Looks simply enough to distinguish, but you as a prospective home buyer, might not know how to figure it out.
Ask the year the house was built. If it was indeed in the 60s-70's, ask about the wiring, if they do not know, check for the following things.
Mind you, you will probably NOT see an outlet like this one, I hope, but go up to an outlet and touch it and see if it feels hot to you, Use your sense of smell, because aluminum wiring if many plugs are used in the house it will give off a burning smell.
Is there anything that can be done to correct this....sure rewire the whole home or you can pig tail them, which means each outlet must be changed from the aluminun to copper to ensure safety.
The number one reason for changing the wiring is to safe guard your investment...your home.
I know your home inspector will find this when he does the inspection, but I rather have my clients know what they are buying than to love this house and then only at the end, find out that it's going to be over and above the price that they could really afford for upgrades.
Included are some great articles on Copper Vs Aluminum wiring.
Comments(0)